OK TKO!
by WeirdlyMemed
Summary: This is a little Au I cooked up! This is an Au I just randomly thought up, and I'm planning on finishing it as soon as possible. I don't want to say much more about the Au, but, what if TKO was in control most of the time, and how could he act? What if KO was just Tko supressing all his good feelings, that somehow manifested on their own? Please Read and Review if you want more!
1. Prologue

Silver Spark's POV.

Lightening flashed across my eyes, as I cried out in pain, stumbling into a nearby alley. I could tell it was almost time for the little bugger to come out of me. Pregnancy was the worst, at this point. Stifling another cry, I groaned and bit into my fist, almost drawing blood. I sat down as gently as possible, knowing that with any terribly large movements, something could happen to my baby. And I had to be really careful right now, too, anyway. Not only because of my contractions, but because of the storm that was rolling in.

To be honest, I never thought my child would be coming so soon. I had messed around with Lazer in the past, with a ton of protection, but I still knew I'd have to deal with this at one point. I moaned, feeling another contraction. What was it at, even? Was I dialated enough to start pushing? Cob, this was stressful.

What seemed to be an easy scouting mission, turned into a terrible pain-filled world. I'd almost gotten spotted by the enemy, A Shadowy Figure, unknown to most hero's, and probably known less to most villains. That, or he's just a glorb messenger guy.

I huffed, feeling my kid kicking at the entrance, trying to push his way out. I gave a strong push, already feeling drained, too quickly. This was gonna take a while.

TIME SKIP BECAUSE I'M NOT GONNA DEAL WITH PEOPLE SCREAMING AT ME FOR LETTING SOMEONE GIVE BIRTH*

His cry peirced the night air, a light drizzle of rain washing him free of amniotic fluids, and more. I smiled, tired out by my standards. I pulled him close to my chest, kissing his forehead gently. I wasn't really able to move just yet, to find him something to be wrapped up in, so my body heat will just have to do. He starts to calm down, his tiny eyes looking up at me. I smile right back down at him, giving a small laugh as he grabbed my shirt and nuzzled into it, trying to get warmer. Satisfied when he found a good angle, he quickly fell asleep.

I sighed, watching him drift off.

"My little Kaio..." I murmured. After a moment, I remembered I wasn't exactly safe, but somehow managed to get through putting my kid into the world without getting caught.

But I thought too soon.

"Ah, Miss Silver Sparks, P.O.I.N.T.'s best hero." The man I was supposed to be watching suddenly came out of the shadows, true to his villain name.

"Shadowy Figure..." I hissed. "What do you want? To see an old lady suffer?"

"Oh, dear, no. I just... Came to investigate where _you_ went off to." He smirked. "Looks like you have your hands full, dear."

"...If you touch one hair on him..." My threat was empty, seeing as I was still drained.

"Or what? It's not like you can move." He chuckled. "Tell you what. I won't follow you, or any of your mates back to your little meeting place, and I won't say I confronted a hero, when I'm not supposed to. But..."

"...But...?"

"You give your son up to _me."_

My breath hitched, and tears came to my eyes.

"No, please... I already lost my husband, I can't lose my child, too.." I whined, helplessly. Though, I knew it couldn't be helped when Shadowy Figure stepped closer and closer, kneeling in front of me.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Laserblast isn't dead..." Another grin, before the baby was snatched from my arms, a wail from both him and I, just seemingly not startling Shadowy Figure. "But, I'll leave you to think of what happened, Silver Spark." And without a chance of me actually getting up to fight, he disappeared without a trace.

I groaned in frustration, moving my arms up to try and get leverage on the slimy, rain covered wall. My legs shook with determination, and once I was up, I leaned against the wall, huffing.

"I'll find you, Kaio. Even if it means parading as a villain to get you back. Mommy's coming for you." I growled, taking my first step to save my baby boy.

**_Meanwhile, in another place..._**

Shadowy Figure placed the crying baby on a low matress in his boss' main lab, hoping that this could be used as a good excuse for not getting as many glorbs as he could. Besides, once the child calmed down, he could explain who's child it rightfully belonged to. The baby continued to cry, and eventually I managed to find a mock blanket, seeing as it really was aluminum foil. It would keep the child warm, and quiet.

But, the child still fussed, and S.F. assumed he wanted something in his little stomach, but he had no idea where to get baby formula. Nor if I should. I rolled my eyes, sticking a mock pacifier into his mouth. One of Boxman's "children's" fingers, that had been broken a while ago. Soon enough, the kid quieted down, though still looked like he wanted to take the fake pacifier out and scream up a storm.

Minutes later, the door reopened to Professor Venemous, and S.F. bowed, smirking under the shadow of his hood.

"Ah, sir." He greeted; a scoff was his answer.

"Do you have as much as I requested?" P.V. asked, looking out of the corner of his eyes at Shadowy. He took a sip of his late night coffee, a few blueprints on bio-chemicals and more, and how he could bio-generate something, _someone_, with using glorbs.

"Unfortunately, no." Shadowy hummed, but stepped out of the way to reveal the fussy baby. "But I believe I got something worth more than a dozen glorbs."

"...Are you thinking that stealing children is a good thing to do?"

"Not unless this child is yours." Shadowy smirked. And just as Venemous was taking a sip of his coffee too. He spat it out in suprise, looking back over at the newborn in suprise, blinking.

"Wait, you mean..." He was speechless, before his eyes widened. "I have a son of my own, now..." He grinned. Just as throughts were coursing through his mind, he jerked his head towards Shadowy. "This might be hard, to take care of a child, but I know just who to call. You're dismissed, Shadowy."

S.F. nodded, a satisfied smirk on his face, as he disappeared out the door.

"Now, for you..." P.V. hummed, picking the sleepy looking child up from his makeshift bed. "I have a _dozen_ plans for you, Turbo K.O. I hope you'll make your daddy proud."

With a laugh of victory, or perhaps something different, Venemous finally felt like things were going his way.

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Hey, thanks for reading, whoever got this far! Things might not be this fast in later chapters, but I don't know! Please review on how good the prolouge was, and I'm hoping to upload more soon, especially if you all like it! See you next time.


	2. Ideology

Here's the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy! If it goes too fast, or too slow, or just doesn't make sense, please contact me, or even just comment :").

Also, reviews from last chapter!

Shaeril McBrown : Of course not- That's why I did it hehehhehehhe-

animu for life : Thanks! Here's another chapter then!

Guest : I actually did! But, then again, this is an AU-

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Ideology : The science of ideas; The study of [their] origin and nature.

T K.O's POV

**_Eleven Years Later..._**

"I think you'll _just love_ this new idea I've come up with." I hear my dad's voice say just behind me, joyously. I pause my game with a scowl, watching him slither in front of me, a roll or two of blueprints under his arm. "You've been terribly bored, haven't you?"

"Yeah, so what? You can just get me more games." I shrugged, looking up at him with a glare. "Besides, whatever you've cooked up, probably isn't as interesting as that." With a scoff, I moved over on the couch, to try and get back to my game. However, he just followed my movements, and I growled. Looks like I wasn't getting out of this experiment's explanation.

"Ah ah ah~ But I'm sure bio-engineering is something you'd enjoy, T K.O." He grabbed one of the rolls of blueprint, and opened it, showing me off... A rat? I looked up at him behind the big parchment, a look of confusion on my face.

"Bio-engineering? How would you be able to pull that off? Especially with an ugly looking thing like that." I then looked closer at some of the notes; some of it design choices, like voice, or even just how big the vessel needed to be. Another thing caught my eye, too. "Besides, why are you using Glorbs? Aren't those, I dunno, super rare?"

"Maybe, but I have a messenger boy to get me as many as I need." Venemous smirked, rolling the paper back up. "So, what do you think? An indestructable sibling sound good for you?"

"Indestructable?"

"Yes. In case I need to test your powers out for a sparring lesson with the subject." My dad hummed, looking pleased. "I might even copy a few of your powers that they could use. Just a warning~" I rolled my eyes, huffing as I leaned back into my seat.

"Now then. I'll let you get back to your videos game. Do not disturb me, seeing as this will be dangerous, and I'm playing God with things like this." He taps the blueprints. "I will see you later today. If you need anything else, just go to Boxman, or his so called children. Love you, Son." He winked, heading out of the room. I muttered a half-hearted, 'love you too,' back, seeing as I didn't really consider him my dad. More like... A fostering dad? Everything he did for me seemed forced upon me, like he was trying to keep me here. He really did give me whatever I wanted, though... I groaned, tossing my controller to the side, suddenly not in the mood to play my videos game.

I was in the mood to think. I know, not the greatest idea, but something had always bothered me about my 'dad'.

They had so many rules for me, Boxman and Venemous. I hated each and every one of them.

I basically had no freedom to go outside. And even when I had asked to, I was accompanied by either a Shannon, or Raymond. Nobody wanted me to be outside alone, apparently worried about me running off. Psh, I've had thoughts, just to see what would happen. I also couldn't eat spaghetti whenever I wanted. Whenever I can learn to cook, I'm making copious amounts of spaghetti and sauce just do dump it all over them, and the robots, and Boxmore in general. I chuckled at the idea, smirking. Maybe rebelling once in a while wouldn't be too bad.

A prod in the back of my mind caught my attention, and I growled. The dweeb seemed to wake up, I guess. Another insistant prod made me sigh in resignation, before I pulled my legs up onto the couch, crossed over one another. I breathed in and out, calming myself as I closed my eyes. Time to go visit K.O.

I was transported into the mindscape, in front of a brightly, neon coloured house. It was often too bright for me to look at, or even be in, so I never really came here unless K.O. would suddenly want to talk to me. With a huff, I walked up the steps, knocking at the door loudly.

"Well, you chump?! You wanted me to come! Why's the door not open?" I growled through the door, stopped knocking, and waited. Not a second passed, before I heard jogging steps approaching the door, and it opened up to K.O. He didn't let his hair down, as it was all held up by a red hairband. He had a light blue shirt on, with a sun as a logo, and he had dark grey shorts that came just above his knees. He had red wristbands to match his hairband, and pink legwarmers, for some odd reason. Why did he even wear them?

"Oh, sorry, T K.O.!" He apoligized, rubbing the back of his head as he stepped out of the doorway. "I just wanted to talk about something." I 'hmph'ed, heading in and jumping onto his bed, which was thankfully a much cooler dark purple colour, that didn't strain my eyes.

"So. What's a faker like you want to talk about?" I asked. He hopped up on his bed, too, sitting cross-legged.

"I'm no faker! We just look similar..." He mumbled, before shaking his head. "Look, that's not what I wanted to talk about. You and I both know that Venemous just _can't_ be our dad. You said it yourself!" K.O. prompted, and I was taken aback at the reminder. I hissed, crossing my arms.

"Whatever. I know he is, because our energy signatures, and _colour, _are the same." I hummed, smirking in satisfaction. "He's our dad. Now stop whining about some itty bitty thought, and tell me why you wanted to talk about something like that?"

"...I was thinking... Where's our mom? I-I mean, you look a lot like Professor Venemous, and it might be true, but for you... _us..._to exist..." He paused, gulping. "Shouldn't we have a mom?" I looked back over at him in shock, almost gasping. It made sense... But, there was still something wrong with that.

"K.O., you already know what happened to her. Dad told us she died after she gave birth, end of story." I growled, grabbing his shoulders. "So _why, _K.O., are you still hanging onto that dream?"

"Because she can't have died. It doesn't feel right." K.O. frowned, looking down.

"Then what happened, huh?"

"I'm not sure... Don't you remember when we asked, though? He avoided talking about her, like she was..."

"...A hero?"

We stayed quiet, for a few minutes. But even then the silence was defening.

"...T K.O."

"Huh?"

"...I don't want to be here anymore." K.O moved a bit in his place, looking worried. "I don't want to stay in Boxmore anymore. And I'm sure you'll agree with me on that. You _feel _bored at least."

"Yeah, what's it to you? Trying to convince me to run away?" K.O. flinched at the intensity in my question, staying quiet. He looked down, biting his lip.

"Well... Then let's do it." He suddenly looked back up at me, and my feral grin. Soon, his own face morphed into excitement, as he jumped to his feet on the bed.

"Yes! We can finally go outside! Maybe!" He cheered, causing me to chuckle. "Now come on! Let's go ask Boxbutt!" I nodded and transported out of the mindscape, my eyes opening.

I turned off my videos game, and jogged out of the room, trying to remember where the half-faced engineer was. I went to the overlook, seeing several Derrels and Jethros were transporting goods from one side, to the other, where they'd be shipped off to other villains. I narrowed my eyes, suddenly hearing his grating voice from just below me.

"Be careful with that, my children! Just be glad when you're done, you're done for the day!" Boxman yelled to his 'children', a chorus of responses making my head hurt. However, I didn't care, I just needed Boxman. I lept over the railing, and fell to the floor, my knees bent to save my bones from a jarring impact.

"Boxbreath." I growled, watching him turn to see me in suprise.

"Oh, it's just you, T K.O." He laughed, shaking his head. "And what did I say about those nicknames, hm?"

"What nicknames? I'm just stating the facts." I smirked. Boxman's face dropped, and he crossed his arms. "Now, I'm gonna ask for a bit more... _Freedom._ Let me go outside, without any of your stupid 'bots, and let me stay out for as long as I _want._" I demanded, though he didn't shrink back as I thought he would.

"You know why I can't do that for you, Kid." He sighed, face palming. "Professor Venemous strictly asked for at least one person, or in this case, robot, to accompany you outside! It's a no!" Boxman turned back around, and stalked off to a different part of the massive warehouse. I followed, knowing I should probably go back, but didn't.

"So you're _really_ sure you can't manipulate him to let me out for a measly minute?" I pushed on, my eyes narrowed.

"No- Agh! Why are you still following me! Go back to your room!" Boxman barked, pointing back upstairs. I used my powers to float back up over the railing and back into my room, groaning the whole while. Guess I'd have to find a way to get out of here... But untill then, I need to stay under wraps to not let my plan out into the open.

**_Meanwhile, at the Fitness Dojo..._**

"-And one, two, three, Kick!" Carol commanded, as she kicked her leg out with a snap, her three 'students' following her example. And they weren't really students, though. They were her three friends, people who she met when she first came to the bodega, in search of shelter. She hadn't meant to sound so pathetic, crying yet over her stolen child. But she didn't tell them that.

She instead lied, not wanting to have too much of their pity. She already felt bad enough.

Now though, she was given a second chance, and was offered the Dojo to teach lessons at. She taught several things, Kung Fu, Jinjitsu, and self defense classes. As she let her leg drop back down, she repeated the process with her other leg, the other three women following her lead. After a few more leg kicks, and different techniques, Carol called for a break, letting the women relax, and grab some water.

She herself grabbed her bottle of water and took a sip, leaning against the wall. Her thoughts were clear, and the only thing that was really on her mind, was letting her friends, Gertie, Gladys, and Ginger, get better at keeping themselves safe. When she took another drink, one of them walked towards her, a curious look on her face.

"Hey, Carol! I've always been wondering... How come you know so many techniques? Did you have to defend yourself, before...?" Gladys asked, and Carol's face drooped with now seen exhaustion.

"No, I... I learned a lot of it from when I was still with P.O.I.N.T." She sighed, shrugging. "I just thought it would be a good idea to teach you guys too, in case something should ever happen!" The former superhero smiled, earning a small laugh from Gladys.

"You really have helped me, a lot, Carol." Gladys suddenly spoke up. "I just wanted to know, because I was thinking about _bringing in my son_ for a lesson or two! It's a good idea, right?"

But Carol was quiet, almost having dropped her bottle in suprise. Eleven years. She'd almost made it eleven years. She'd been building her walls up, to make sure she wasn't affected by parents talking about their children. But for some reason, this idea broke all her walls down. Since this weekend was her very own _missing_ son's birthday.

"Carol...?" Gladys asked.

"...I'm fine, Gladys. Just..." She put her bottle of water down, a shaky sigh coming out. "I think I have to end this session early, alright? I just remembered that Mr. Gar needed me for something this afternoon." She lied, hoping her face wasn't showing the heartbreak she felt inside.

Gertie heard that, and perked up, curiously. "Wait, you mean this is it for today?"

"Yes. Now I'll see you all tomorrow." Carol gave a smile, grabbing her bag, water bottle, and quickly walked out of the Dojo, and went straight into Mr. Gar's convenience store, passing Enid, the cashier. Enid paid her no attention, but did notice how she was heading to the back.

"Uh, Miss Kincaid?"

Carol stopped, turning around to look at her with barely concealed tears. Enid flinched, getting out of her chair to dash over to her. She desperately tried to stop from looking so pathetic, sighing.

"Before you ask, yes, I'm fine. I just need to see your boss. Is he in his office?" Carol cut in before Enid could barely get a word out.

"Um, yeah! Sorry, I'll let you go, just wanted to make sure there wasn't any mistakes, you know?" She gave a small chuckle, while Carol nodded and headed down to Mr. Gar's office. He was the only one who knew her secret. He'd be able to let her cry her eyes out, as she grieved over her stolen child. She knocked on his door, stifling a cry of sadness when Gar opened up.

"C-carol!" He exclaimed, concerned upon seeing her shaking form. Carol couldn't respond, as he hugged him tight, already starting to cry.

Gar slid to the floor, pulling her down gently to sit her in his lap. The grieving mom sobbed into his chest, both of their arms encircling eachother.

"W-why... Why did he have to be taken from me...?" Carol managed to choke out, hugging him tighter. "I've done nothing w-wrong..."

"It's not your fault, Carol... That Shadowy Figure who took him from you probably just wanted you to suffer, to discourage you, maybe...?" He hummed, feeling her shaking her head a bit.

"N-no... I don't think that was it... I think he was watching me, at the same time I was watching him..." She pulled away slightly, sniffing and wiping away her tears. "And he knew that K.O. was important to me, and not just some baby I picked up off the street out of pity.." She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Listen, we can still find him... He can't be that far..." Gar prompted, making Carol look up at him with hope in her glossy eyes.

"Y-yeah... You're right. He's still out there!" She nodded. That fire that she thought was gone was lit once more, burning brightly. "We just haven't been looking hard enough!"

Gar smiled a bit, chuckling. "There's my Carol... Now you should probably head home and get some rest. I'll get Enid and Rad on board by tomorrow, and we'll go out everywhere, looking for him. Promise."

"Thanks, Gene." She smiled, kissing his cheek as she stood up once more. Carol dusted herself off, lending a hand to Gar to help him stand. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. Rest easy," Gar nodded, watching her grab her bag and bottle, waving her off. She turned to wave back as well, going back out to the main area.

Enid waved her goodbye, glad to see she looked a lot better than when she came in. "Later, Carol." She mentioned, getting a short nod from her.

From then on, when Carol got home, she felt both emotionally and mentally exhausted, not even bothering to put away her bag and more. She only got into her pyjamas, a t-shirt and baggy sweats, took off her headband, and laid in bed, sighing.

Tomorrow was gonna be long, but worth it.


	3. Escaping Boxmore

Alright, here's the next chapter! Hope you're still enjoying this messy au hhhhh

Reviews from last chapter!

animu for life : He won't! This fanfic would end too early then, heheheheh

Dav009 : Lucky for you, it's been updated! I have a really weird update scedule for this anyway lol

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T K.O's POV.

A low groan escaped me as a bright ray of sunshine passed over my closed eyes. I tried turning over, to escape the cursed light, but I guess I turned towards it. I huffed and pulled the covers over my head, trying to get back to sleep. It was either too early to be awake, or the sun was so bright if I tried opening my eyes, my retinas would burn.

"Um..." I suddenly heard off to my side. I stilled, trying to figure out where I've heard it before. Small... Cautious... My voice...? Wait, no, not mine. It was K.O.'s. But, how could I hear him?

I pulled the covers back down with a glare on my face, attempting to open my eyes. "Where are you, ya' scrub.." I muttered, the rougher tone to my voice gained from being asleep.

"...On your left." He answered after a moment. I grunted, rubbing the sleep in my eyes as I sat up... And almost screamed at K.O floating mid-air next to me.

However, I managed to keep it down to a suprised yelp, my eyes widening.

"How in the hell did you manage to get out of my mindscape?!" I snarled, confused. "I thought it was impossible for you and I to co-exist like this!"

"Yeah, me too!" K.O smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "But I was kinda curious about what would happen, and tested it out while you were asleep. Now I can tell you stuff even when you're in control!" He chuckled, looking pleased with himself. I sighed, rubbing my face. Yeah, too early for this.

"...What time even is it, huh?"

"About 9 in the morning."

"...I hate you." I growl, already feeling a headache forming. I didn't want to wake up unless I woke up by myself, or else I'd have an incurable headache the rest of the day. Whatever, I guess. It could help us get out today.

"I know. But try and cheer up, okay? We're gonna get outta here, right? So that's something to look forward to!" K.O pretended to poke at my cheek, and I swatted his ghostly hand away.

"Whatever, just don't touch me." I huff, slowly getting out of bed, and stretching a bit to wake up faster. K.O watches me for a moment, before floating around to look at my stuff as I got ready for the day. I shook my head, fluffing up my spiky hair. It's not like it's any different from bed-head, so I don't do much with it. I pull on my dark purple pentagram shirt, and change from my sweats to some shorts, just to make running a bit easier, if need be. I check myself out in the mirror, before remembering; I still needed to do my eyeshadow and eyeliner. As I reached for it, K.O interruped the silence.

"Are you ready yet? Your room's so dark, I feel like falling asleep myself." He whined, floating up behind me.

"No, chill out, idiot. Give me 5 more minutes, tops." I growl pointedly, carefully applying the eyeliner, and blinking a few times to make sure it stayed. And then, even if it was quickly done, my eyes looked a bit better than they did minutes before. I smirked, satisfied with my look now.

I kept my smirk as I went down to the kitchen, grabbing myself some coffee. Normally, most of it would be gone by the time I get down here. So seeing as there was practically a full pot of dark and richly brewed coffee waiting for me, I felt as if our escape today would go well. I poured myself, for once, a full cup. I sipped it a few times, not caring if it burned off my tastebuds. It felt good just running into my system. Suddenly, the loudspeakers rung to life.

"All Boxman 'Bots, report to the main distribution area! I repeat, all Boxman 'Bots head to the main distribution area! A big announcement will be made! So if you don't get here, it's your own fault!" Boxman shouted, laughing as he cut it off. Though I perked up, curious.

"What'cha thinking, T K.O? Should we go see what's up?" K.O asks, upside down in front of me. I rolled my eyes, moving out of his way and taking another sip from my coffee.

"Well, duh. It's gotta be something important." I looked at him, before heading out of the kitchen, expecting him to follow me. "Dad's probably too busy to care, and Boxbutt might even think about giving us a chance, with whatever he's cooked up this time."

"Hmm... You got a point." My double chuckled, floating beside me. I decided to chug down the rest of my cup, and set it on the railing of the bridge above the distribution center.

I hopped down, the few robots Boxman ever built were there already. No need to have more than one of each if they all had a hive-mind connection with the rest, eh?

"Listen up, my beautiful children!" Boxman started, the small crowd of 'bots looking up at their dad. "We all know those _loosers_ over at the Plaza, right?"

They shouted a, "Yeah!", together, causing a familiar evil smirk to show on Boxman's face.

"And how they sell their _heroic_ things, all their food, and junk! None of it compares to the power of you, my lovely babies." He chuckled. "But, that is no longer the point! I've found out a way to send a few volunteers over to the Plaza whenever they please, to trash everything in sight!" Cheers erupted from the robots, with Ryamond clapping. I rolled my eyes.

"And I will be sending a Darrell first, since, well, I love him so much, and he was the first creation I ever made~" Every other robot that wasn't Darrell, glowered, glared, or just scowled, hearing the praise all too well. "And I know you'll do me proud, Darrell."

"Yes, of course, Daddy! You can count on me to trash those Lakewood Plaza losers!" Darrell saluted, grinning viciously.

"Good, good~ Then get ready, because I'm going to be sending them a little, _gift, _if you will, in just a few minutes." Boxman laughed with victory, before coughing and looking down at the rest of the robots here and there. "Now get back to work! Villainy doesn't run itself, you know. Darrell, come with me!"

The red robot nodded, following his dad. I followed a little ways behind them, attempting to hover off the ground, but it didn't work. I glared at K.O, who gave me a shrug. Perhaps I couldn't use my powers if K.O. was out like this... It might be troublesome, but I can manage. I still followed, as quietly as I could, coming out to the other side of the distribution center, where it was completely clean, but had several crates that had a silvery colour, and one side showed off the Boxman Logo. I smirked slightly, watching Darrell hop into one of the boxes.

I forced K.O to get back in my head, just so I could be able to teleport. I'd let him back out how he was before, but for now, I just was glad my trick worked. But then there was Darrell. His eye widened, and he almost screamed, "Intruder!", before I clasped my hands over his mouth. I lowered my voice as much as I could, just barely hearable.

"If you tell my dad, or even get Boxman to get me out of here, I'll dismantle you in the most painful way possible, and say you got trashed by the Plaza losers. Got it?" I snarled quietly, getting a nervous nod of Darrell's head. I pulled my hand back, still on edge.

"Are you ready, Darrell?" Boxman's voice carried into the thin box, and Darrell snapped out of his fear.

"Yes, Dad!"

"Then-! Good luck!" The evil smile was definetly heard in his tone, as he slammed down a button, causing the box to disappear from the small room. However, Gravity seemed to reintroduce itself, as the box fell quickly from the sky, smashing the box open. I fell out, my messy hair covering my eyes as I got back up. I pushed said hair out of my eyes, and looked to Darrell, smirking.

"Thanks for helping me escape, 'big bro.'" I teased, sticking out my tongue before dashing off, not wanting to be seen by anyone just yet. I looked back at him as he cried out in suprise, having been kicked away by some tall, pink haired lady. I made sure I was out of sight, before I watched some of the action. An alien looking dude wasn't too far behind her, using some levitation powers from his finger, to toss Darrell back into the girl's quick kick, sending his robotic body back to Boxmore. I frown. That was too quick, almost like they've done this sort of thing before.

"Good job, Rad." I hard the girl speak to the alien. So, the blue skinned, green haired alien was named Rad? What a weird name.

"Thanks, Enid! But, I didn't really need your help." The alien smugly replied, looking arrogant as he stretched his muscles. "I did say you could stay on your phone and let me take care of the Darrell."

"You know Gar would be disappointed in us if I didn't help you fight!" Enid frowned, throwing her hands up. "But if you want to do something on your own, how about you deal with the register, and I can laze around, like you do." She smirked, chuckling.

"What?! No! That's unfair!" Rad cried, his pointed ears moving down a bit.

"It is to me, Rad. Now let's get back to work, didn't Gar say he had something for us to do when he got back?" Enid hummed, a curious look on her face as she turned to walk back inside. Rad followed her, muttering still about how 'unfair' she made things, and they went in.

I frowned a bit, slowly moving out of my hiding spot. I looked around cautiously, hoping to Cob that nobody knew I was here. But I was super pumped up, adrenaline and fresh air was coursing through me. Nobody could stop me now! I laughed maniacly. This was _true _freedom! I could do what I wanted, and nobody would care! I threw my head back and laughed louder. It was probably my biggest mistake yet.

"Hey, kiddo. Mind calmin' down your laughing?" A kind woman's voice is barely overheard by my laughing, and I abruptly stop, scowling. Wonderful, so there were some sort of rules to being outside.

"Why should I?" I grumbled, not turning around.

"Because my friends and I at the Dojo can hear you loud an' clear." She chuckled a bit. "Besides, are you lost? Why don't you turn around so I can see if I know anyone who might'a lost their kid."

I stilled, feeling fear suddenly rush into me.

"T-that's not nesscesary, I'm not lost! I just found something funny, that's all!" My mouth suddenly blurted out, as if it had a mind of it's own. Though, it was considerably less rough, and sounded hesitant, more like K.O's. I took a quick look at myself, my right arm had a purple wristband with spikes coming off of it, while my left arm suddenly had a red wristband on it. My hair was still down, probably to keep the look up, unless we wanted to scare whoever it was who wanted to help us. So K.O managed to form 'Halfsies', as he so called us, to save my behind. I smirked, almost letting out a chuckle. Sometimes I felt he was sneakier than me.

"Oh, really? You sure?" She asked again. "But can you do me a solid and turn around? You look pretty young..." She suddenly muttered to herself. K.O helped turn us around, albiet slowly, trying to get a profile of her before we really were turned around.

She had fluffy looking blonde hair, that was pulled up into a red headband, strange. There was a little gap between her teeth, and she wore some training clothes. It looked comfortable, seeing as her arms were free of fabric, and her legs weren't too troubled by it. At this time, though, we'd been fully turned by this point, and she gasped.

"What happened to your eye...?" She grabbed a hold of our face, and even if I was tempted to pull away, I just couldn't. She gently rubbed a thumb over my eye, as if checking to see if it was bruised, like how it really looked. To keep up the façade, I winced, and she pulled back, as if she was burned.

"S-sorry, probably got a little carried away..." She apoligized, before sighing. "I think I still have an ice pack with me in the Dojo. You could use it." She mentioned, hooking an arm around me and guiding me to the dojo. Again, I couldn't pull away even if I tried. So far, as long as K.O and I seperated without her thinking I had two black eyes, that's all I would want.

I stayed quiet, splitting with K.O., watching the red wristband being replaced by my normal, purple spiky wristband. My eyes returned to normal, and I didn't feel so out of control anymore. We went inside, and I felt uncomfortable, feeling the women's eyes on me as the lady sat me down in a chair and handed me over a flat squared ice pack. I placed it over my eye, but not to where it touched me. I didn't want to get an iceburn.

"Does that feel better, sweetie...?" She asked, smiling slightly.

"Uh... A little..." I mutter, looking away. "Why... Why did you want to help me?" I then ask, managing to catch her off guard.

"You.. You reminded me of someone. Your eye color is the same as his, your hair color is the same... And..." I looked back up at her, seeing her rub her eye quickly to chase away a tear, smiling sadly. "And I lost him eleven years ago... My _son._"


	4. Troublesome

"...And I lost him eleven years ago." She smiled sadly. "My _son."_

Carol seemed to forget that her students/ friends were just behind her. She hadn't told them she lost her kid eleven years ago! That was about the same time that she showed up, right? Perhaps there was a lot more Carol hid from them than they thought. They listened in, stopping their own conversation.

"...How'd you lose him?" T K.O growled, a bit of a challenge in his voice. He suspected something was up, not caring if she flinched from the intensity in his voice.

"I-I don't think I should. Besides, you're just a kid. One that I've never met before, and don't need to share personal things with." She stuttered, looking away with a frown.

"Then let's get to know eachother." The child suggested, shrugging. "I've been wantin' to know your name so I can just leave when you're done whining about how you lost your kid."

"Excuse you!" She gasped in suprise. "Don't you know how horrible it is for a mom to lose her son?!"

"I'd never know. My mom died after she gave birth."

The Dojo became quiet, and Carol looked away, frowning. Seconds ticked by, a small clock above their head seeming to grow louder and louder.

"...Carol." She finally sighed, giving in. "My name is Carol."

"Finally, we've gotten somewhere." Though something about her name clicked somewhere in his head, but he didn't know what for. "My name's Turbo K.O. T K.O for short." T K.O smirked, not noticing her sudden ghastly face. Though, when Carol stayed quiet for a bit, T K.O finally looked back at her, his eyes widening.

Her eyes were full of tears, almost tipping over her eyelids. And she tried wiping them away, only to smear a bit of her eyeliner onto her face. It couldn't be possible, but it was worth a shot.

"Does... The name _Kaio _ring a bell to you, by any chance...?" She asked, her voice breaking from the supressed sobbing. T K.O flinched, his breathing picking up. Nobody knew that name but him. He never told his dad about his alternate personality, alter ego, for fears of him being experimented on to see why such a thing would happen. He never told Boxman, seeing as he would go straight to Venemous anyway to get confirmation nothing was wrong. And he couldn't trust any of the stupid robots he's built either. And now he couldn't escape.

Or could he?

With a burst of purple energy, he blasted Carol away, floating off of the chair. He was scared, confused, and kind of regretted coming here.

"You ever say that damn name around me again, I'll kill you faster than you could ever think." T K.O snarled, before bursting out of the dojo.

Carol only stood up shakily, tears still in her eyes. That kid... What had been done to him to hate her little Kaio? Was he still alive? Had he made T K.O angry? Her burnt out hope seemed to reignite, and she just knew Kaio had to be out there.

Suddenly, Mr. Gar, or to Carol, Eugene, burst in through the doors of the Dojo, looking worried.

"C-Carol?! Are you all safe?! I-I saw a small explosion go off in here so I rushed over to check in-"

"Gene, it's alright!" Carol tried to calm him down, giving a small smile. "Well, it's alright, now that you're here. I have some great news!"

"W-what?"

"I think I have a lead on my son."

~~~

Meanwhile, over at Boxmore, a certain spiky haired eleven year old was scaling up the wall with his powers as he tried to get in without being noticed. He looked around his room, and then behind him outside, before opening his window and slipping in. He was in the clear-

Before his door slammed open to a furious looking Professor Venemous, T K.O's dad. And he only looked angrier when he set his sights on the child halfway in his window.

The teen gave him a guilty grimace, slowly falling onto his bed as he came in fully through the window.

"Hey... Dad..." He chuckled slightly, causing the adult's eyes to narrow further. T K.O shrunk back a bit, looking away with a glare.

"I'm very disappointed in you, T K.O." It was simply spoken, but there was definetly some restrained anger in his tone.

"Yeah, I know. You say that all the time." T K.O responded sourly.

"You should know better than to sneak out." Venemous snarled. "So I'm taking some precautions. Boxman?"

The hefty engineer suddenly appeared beside the purple skinned male, leering at T K.O.

"Darrell! You know what to do." Boxman ordered, the red robot rushing in to put locks on his window, and installing a lock soon after on the outside of his door.

T K.O watched in mild concern, before he put the dots together.

"What?! No, dad, don't lock me in here!" T K.O got up off his bed, ready to run out the door if he could, however, it was impossible since the door was slammed shut in his his face, the lock being turned audible. "Dad, please!! I don't want to be in here!!"

"You're being grounded to your room, and you'll only be allowed to eat when I say you are, and use the bathroom, when I say you are, and your videos game when I say you are. This is the consequence of your actions." Venemous sounded deathly calm, though T K.O knew better. Tears flowed from his eyes, as he listened to his dad. "If you touch the locks on your windows, it'll give you a deadly shock, and if you manage to open the window, this whole place will go into lockdown."

A small chuckle came from Venemous.

"Oh, and don't even attempt to use your Turbonic powers here. These locks are laced with power sapping abilities, which would help you understand why there's a very deadly shock with the locks."

T K.O looked down at the floor, kneeling on his hands and knees as tears fell from his eyes. He was so close to breaking, and sobbing, and letting his father hear his dispair. But he wouldn't get to, seeing as they probably already walked away.

However, he let his body fall the small bit of the way to the floor, as he let out soft cries. He wanted to scream. Make everyone afraid. Make someone sympathetic. He wanted company. Then, an idea hit. He already had company. Maybe his body wouldn't wither away, as he plans to spend the rest of his grounding in the mindscape with K.O. It wouldn't be so bad.

His teary eyes closed for possibly the last time in a while, as he went to his mind.

His eyes opened once more, to the neon colored house. He felt utterly grateful that K.O was in his head. If he wasn't here, well...

T K.O shook his head, and went into the house, not bothering to knock. K.O had heard his coming into the house, and he looked out of his kitchen to see the door wide open, and a depressed looking T K.O flop facedown on his bed. What had happened when he was preoccupied in his kitchen?

"T K.O?"

A dissatisfied grunt was his answer.

"C'mon, T K.O. You know I can't understand you when you mumble into the bed." K.O frowned worriedly, as he sat down next to his look-a-like. T K.O lifted his head briefly to speak.

"I fucked up."

"T K.O..."

"I _screwed_ up. There, happy?" The angsty teen growled, before smashing his face back into the bed.

"Not really..." K.O. sighed, but patted T K.O's back. "I wanna know what happened. I stepped away for a few hours, and you're suddenly depressed."

"Y'know that woman who took us to her Dojo thing?"

"Yeah, I had to save your behind and form Halfsies."

"Well..." T K.O paused, looking up at him. "She said your name." K.O froze, his already pale white face in the neon mindscape turning bleach white.

"...What...?"

"Kaio."

"I-I asked you not to call me that!"

"Exactly. Thankfully I told her not to say it around me ever again if she valued living."

"T K.O! You don't just threaten to kill someone!!" K.O frantically shook his head.

"But she said your name wrong! I wanted her to know that!" T K.O responded, hissing. The two brother-like twins turned away from one another, arms crossed, and looking troubled. Indeed, a lot was on their minds.

Who knew about K.O like that? Obviously, only T K.O did, but hearing it from an unknown source, a hero of all things, made their skin crawl. And this hero, Carol, sounded familiar. Sure, not enough to trust, but enough to feel like they knew her.

T K.O felt uncomfortable just thinking about her, and how she reacted. She looked so hopeful, and sad, and scared, and so many other emotions he couldn't name off the top of his head.

"Do you think...?" K.O started, but stopped before the whole thought could come out.

"What? Of course I think. Why would I have you in my head if I didn't?" T K.O hissed, just barely looking over.

"N-no, that's not..." He sighed, turning back to face T K.O. "You've never told anyone about me. Not our dad, Boxman, the robots, anyone!" T K.O's arms closed around himself a bit more tightly. "So how would she know my name! A hero!"

"Yes, I know! I'm freaking worried, okay?!" T K.O suddenly burst. "She said it like she knew more about you than I thought, and it was after just saying my name!! She looked so sad, and hopeful, and- GRAHHH! I can't believe all that happened today!!" He screeched at the top of his lungs.

"First, Carol says your damn name, then I come back home at the wrong time, and I get locked in my room! This is such a shitty day!! I'm gonna die by the time I'm un-grounded! I just want to go back to Carol! I can't believe I'm saying that either!" He screamed, before falling back onto the bed, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I-I want our mom back..."

K.O watched with concern deep in his eyes, before he took T K.O's hand, and squeezed it.

"I-I know... I know that. But, guess we won't get her back no matter what..." K.O's own eyes teared up as he uttered words that he hated terribly. "Because she's _dead._ Dad said so..."

T K.O let his tears go, as they rolled down the sides of his face. He sat up and pulled K.O into a hug, starting to sob. K.O hugged back automatically, trying to hold in his own tears.

"It'll be okay, T K.O... We can always go back to the Dojo place tomorrow-"

"We can't! You idiot! Dad locked us in our room! I'm so cob-damn scared, K.O." He shuddered, furiously wiping away his tears as he stayed in the hug. "We're locked in here and we'll never get out..."

"Maybe I can try...?"

"No, you can't. The stupid locks are all energy zappers, and it'll take away my turbonic energy if I try to escape."

"But it's only taking away turbonic energy, right?"

"Yeah... But..."

The two stayed in a hug for a moment longer, before T K.O pulled out of the hug, mascara marks down on his cheeks. "Don't hurt yourself too much then. But, not yet, okay? I still don't know what it could do to _you_."

"I'll be okay, Grumpo." K.O smiled sadly, teasing the spiky haired teen. T K.O glared at him, before huffing out a small laugh.

"Want to take over for the night? I think your headband is still in my dresser if you want to." T K.O offered, laying back on the bed.

"Oh! Sure! I haven't gotten decent sleep in a while. But, I think I'll keep up your look for as long as possible, you know?" K.O smiled, and the edgy teen nodded, sighing.

"Good luck. You're gonna need it."

"Thanks... Bro." K.O hummed, liking the thought of calling his look-a-like his... Brother.

"See ya' bro." Especially when T K.O would chime in with it.

With that, K.O teleported out of the mindscape, waking up on his side next to the locked door. He carefully got up, and looked out the window, seeing it was dark outside. He now understood why T K.O told him not to attempt to get out now, since nobody would actually be awake there.

The more cheery teen pulled off the pentagram shirt, and shuffled around in one of the dresser drawers, pulling out his wristbands, headband, and a plain white tanktop. He pulled on the tanktop and the wristbands, leaving the headband on the top of the dresser for later. He took off the shorts and pulled on a new pair of sweats, sighing as he finally got into bed. Almost as soon as his eyes closed, he was out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dun dun dun~

How're they gonna get out? :) Hueheueheuheeu


	5. The Truth?

Finally, a different story veiw! This is gonna be a really interesting chapter, no? Hueheuehuheeheh

Hope ya'll like how I astral project all of my feelings onto K.O in this chapter-

~~~

K.O's POV

~~~

With a small grunt, I slowly opened my eyes. The sun was... Nice to feel in the morning. Especially after being in T K.O's mindscape for a long time. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to wake up as quickly as possible. But, that might require food... I frowned, remembering what T K.O mentioned, and looked over at the door.

All I saw on a plate was hashbrowns, that smelled overly salted and peppered. I sighed, shaking my head. Guess I wasn't getting breakfast.

"Well, you _finally_ woke up." I heard off to my right, and I almost jumped. T K.O did the same thing I did yesterday! It looks so cool, now that I see it myself. I laughed a bit, rubbing the back of my currently spiky haired head.

"Oh! Sorry Grumpo! How long have you been waiting...?"

"At least an hour. I saw some... Freaky things in your mind. When you were asleep." He looked a bit stiffly off to the side, and I became confused.

"I... Had a nightmare?" I asked cautiously, not remembering. Perhaps I did, and just wasn't really paying attention.

"No! I didn't say you had a nightmare..." He growled, looking back at me. "We... We lived with Carol. And we actually _worked _with heroes. And we defeated all the robots, n-not that I actually care about them..." He hissed.

I however rose an eyeridge, before shrugging. "Meh. I can't remember it, so I dunno what you're worried about." I hopped out of bed with a slight yawn, doing various stretches to get blood flowing through me. Once I was done, I went to grab my headband, and quickly put it on, my uncontrolled hair looking neat, sharp, and tidy. I smiled at myself in the mirror, before grabbing a new white tee-shirt and dark blue shorts, to look ready for the day.

"Why do you wear such... _Plain_ things?" T K.O scowled, and I looked behind me to see his expression.

"Because it's simple! I don't want to have flashy shirts in case someone catches me!" I argued, crossing my arms in mock arrogance. He rolled his eyes, before pushing me towards the locked windows, keeping me a good distance in case there was a radius that he couldn't pass into.

"Now, I'm gonna stay in the mindscape until you get out of here. When you did this sort of thing to me last time, I couldn't use my powers. You can do this without me, right?" T K.O briefly explained, and I hesitantly nodded my head. "Good. See you on the flipside." He nudged me, before disappearing once more.

I went closer to the window, and slowly placed a finger down on one of the advanced locks... But felt nothing. I blinked, confused. Shouldn't it have shocked me? Even just a little bit? My confidence was renewed when I simply undid the locks, and opened the window.

But something was left out of the earlier explanation, wasn't it?

As soon as I cracked it open, bars closed down on the window, and even more bars collapsed down onto T K.O's door. I panicked, looking around, hearing an angered, "What did you do?!" from my alter ego himself. He looked just about as panicked as me, but worse, probably. He's always had a fear of being locked somewhere. And this was most likely hell for him.

"I-I don't know! I unlocked the locks, a-and then it just shut us in!!"

"Well then get us _out_!" He screeched at me, zipping around the room in the air to help me try and find a way out. "Wait!! Can't you teleport too!? I can't; those locks could still take my energy!"

"I-I don't know-"

"**_TRY_**!" And with that, he left once more. I cried out in suprise when I heard a slam at the door.

"Turbo K.O! You better not have left!" I heard dad's voice snarl through the door, and I almost felt tears fall down.

I calmed down as much as I could, closing my eyes. Tears did in fact escape, seeing as I was so scared of him getting to me.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I say, aloud, voice trembling. "But I won't let you keep me in here."

With a final thought, I teleported out of the room, a flare of blue left behind from my natural energy color.

~~~

Since I had saw the plaza once before, it was so much easier to teleport myself there. I collapsed to my hands and knees, finding it hard to breathe. What had I done? I thought I was gonna die, if I stayed in my dad's path. I felt tears sting my eyes once more, and I let them freely drop, as I whimpered. I was so glad T K.O was in control most of the time. I'm such a wimp, and I have terrible speaking skills. And now I was here, in the middle of a small heroes plaza, and I felt so freaking scared. What would someone think if they saw a crying child?

I sniffled, sitting back on my butt and trying to calm down. Thankfully nobody was out in the parking lot, or else-

"Oh my cob! Rad!" A lady's voice yelled, running steps coming close quickly. A second pair followed soon after, and I heard heavy breathing from the girl.

"Gosh, kid, are you alright?!" The girl asked, and I looked up at her with red eyes. "Rad, put those Lightening Nachos down! It's not what he needs!"

"Well, it's what _I_ need! He probably just fell down, and cried over it or something." The boy huffed, the crinkle of the lightening from his snack causing me to jolt in my spot.

"Hmph, jerk." The girl growled, before gently placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay, brush head..? I suddenly saw you drop half a foot from the ground, you know?"

I shook my head slightly, and she frowned worriedly.

"...You're not Enid." The boy, Rad(?), suddenly spoke up. "She literally hates helping others. I once saw her cry when Pird asked for gum." Rad snickered.

"Cob-damn, Rad! Just leave and get Gar, alright?! You're obviously not helping." Enid, presumably, snarled at her partner.

"Alright, Geez." He groaned, before leaving. I watched him walk off, and I turned my face back to the ground, a few more tears falling. Why was I so scared? I just... Didn't want to be around them when they were fighting about what to do with me. I hated yelling.

"Listen, Kid, I'm going to bring you into the Bodega, and I'll grab you something to eat. We can talk later, when you're not so... Teary eyed." Enid gave me a crooked smile as she tilted my head up, but I still looked away. She frowned, probably not thinking I'd be so stubborn.

So, she pulled me up off the ground, and trudged into a store called 'Gar's Bodega'. I kept my eyes to the floor, even as she set me on the countertop.

"Seriously, dude. If you're mute, just nod." Enid sounded exhausted, as if all this help was making her be so exhausted.

I shook my head, and she perked up a bit.

"Wait, you're not? Just don't want to speak?"

"...Nothing to talk about." I answer with a hoarse voice.

Just as she was about to answer, Mr. Gar burst into the store with Rad, and I looked up shakily. Cob, there's three heroes now. My hands gripped my shaking body tighter, as I attempted to listen to what the new hero, Gar, I think, was saying.

"-Are you alright, boy?!"

"Y-Yeah." _No_.

"You look ready to jump out of your skin, kid." He frowned, and his glasses seem to frown with him. I look down again, almost clawing into my skin. Cob, I want to leave. Let me leave. Let. Me. Leave.

"I-I'm sorry.." I stuttered instead, feeling like I needed to put up with this.

"No need to be. But you're shakin' really bad, kiddo. What's your name, so, y'know, we can take you back home." Gar suggested, offering to put his hand in mine for a handshake.

I swallowed hard, looking up at all three of the heroes. They weren't pushy, but, I just felt so scared. Enid, the purple haired girl, came off as strong, confident, and kinda apathetic, like she didn't want to work here, but had no real choice. Rad, the alien, looked arrogant, cocky, but looked comfortable here. He must like working here. But Gar, I just was shaken from the sheer size of his muscles. He must be really strong.

"Uh, Kid?" Rad rose an eyeridge at me, and I whipped my head to face him. "He asked for your name. Don't you have one?"

"Uh- ah-" I stuttered, feeling my throat close up, my eyes stinging once more. I was hot and cold, hot and cold, numb, and could feel everything all at once. I scrambled off of the counter, earning a gasp from the three heroes, as I ran as fast as I could to try and escape them. Tears streamed from my eyes as I heard their running steps behind me, trying to stop me. Thankfully, there was a door in the back, probably a distribution unit. I opened it and closed myself in, locking it as soon as I could.

I gave a silent scream, suddenly falling unconcious as T K.O forced me back into the mindscape.

I screamed out in fear, sobbing my heart out. I felt his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest. I sobbed freely, hiccuping and crying into his chest. He whispered nice things to help encourage me to come out of my panic attack.

"Okay, you'll be okay..." He mutters to me, when my crying slows down. My head was still screaming, but I looked up at him.

"Now... Calm down with me... What is 5 things you can see...? It can be anything.." We haven't done this sort of a thing in a long time. I haven't had a panic attack in a long while, anyway.

"I-I... I, hhnh, I can see... P-purple.." I choked on my snot, feeling him trying to wipe away my tears. "I can see, f-floors..."

"Mhm... Three more..."

"Y-you... M-me... A-and my hands..."

"Okay, that's good." He nodded, sighing. "Now, four things you can feel..?"

"Y-you, m-me..." I started," the floors, and how cold they are..."

"Okay, three things you can hear..?"

"Your voice, my voice, a-and the silence.."

"Two things you can smell.."

"Some mind spaghetti, and my sweat...?" He chuckled a bit at that one, shaking his head.

"Want to tell me anything you can taste, or, you doing better..?" T K.O rose an eyeridge, and I shook my head. I felt calmer, once more. I pulled away from him slightly, rubbing my eyes pitifully.

"So, meeting heroes head on like that isn't so fun, huh?" T K.O smirked, as if poking fun at my anxiety was such a fun thing to do. I frowned at him, though it didn't do much to deter another laugh from him.

"No, don't worry, bro. I promise I'm not being rude just for the hell of it." I looked back up at him, as a somber look came upon his face.

"You sure sound like you're lying.." I muttered, looking away.

"How do you think it felt for me when Carol forced me to come with her to her Dojo? I wanted to run out right there and then. I was scared she'd find out we were villains, I was a villain, and fight me. Like Dad said." T K.O sighed, looking troubled. "But she didn't. She only said your name with hope in it. I just... Don't get it."

"...Me neither."

The two brotherlike twins stayed silent.

"Hey, you've been in the mindscape for a while, K.O. Want me to take over? You don't need to deal with it any longer than you have to." T K.O smirked, and I was wholly tempted to let him take over. But that smirk unnerved me. He had an idea, and I wasn't going to let him carry it through.

"N-No, I've got this. I was just really overwhelmed.." I nervously smiled. I could feel his doubt coming off of him in waves, but shrugged and let it be.

"Alright. Neither of us have been watching, so who knows what's happening." T K.O shrugged. "So be careful." He pointed angrily at me, before I was sent back to reality.

I gasped awake, my eyes widening at the sudden sight of Carol and Gar in my peripheral vision. Neither of them looked down at me, which meant they didn't realize that I woke up. All for the better.

"Gene, I can't say for sure! W-what if it's _him!_"

"It can't be, Carol! This kid was shaking like a leaf when Enid and Rad brought him in! As if he was scared of us!"

"Well he's never met any of you, has he?!"

"He hasn't met _you, _**either**."

The two adults stayed quiet, and I just watched as Carol slowly fell to her knees, starting to cry. Gar's angry face morphed into one of concern and worry, as he laid a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to flinch, but didn't pull away from him.

"I-I'm sorry..." Gar tried, but Carol shook her head, looking up at him.

"M-maybe it was too much to hope he was still alive..." She mumbled, wiping away her tears. "I just... I was so hopeful that he might be _mine_." Her voice broke, and Gar sadly nodded.

"I know, Carol... But, maybe when he wakes up again, we'll know for sure?"

"O-okay."

I closed my eyes once again when I saw them turn towards me, and I heard the lady gasp.

"He's moved, Gene! Maybe he's awake..!" She suggested, and I shuffled in my spot, pretending like I was just waking up. I slowly opened my eyes, and sat up just as slowly. Carol had the most focused gaze on me that I'd ever seen, and I almost flinched under the ferocity.

"C-carol..?" I muttered out, and her eyes widened.

"Y-yes, kiddo?"

"...Are you talking about your missing son...?"

The warehouse went silent. The single mother slowly nodded her head with a pale face.

"...What was his name?"

"Kaio."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope ya'll are ready for some angst in the next chapter lmao-

So much be happening-


	6. Stranger Danger?

Huehuehueheu-

This is gonna be a pretty fun chapter to write-

:")

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TK.O's POV.

She said his name. Again. But I finally knew why. He was... Her Child. Her missing child.

And she... She was our mom.

"NO! I refuse to fucking believe that!" I suddenly took control, shouting, already seeing something going wrong if K.O was still in control.

Carol and Gar both flinched at the rage and disbelief in my voice.

"She's been dead for as long as I've known! Dad's always told me that!" I snarled, tears starting to stream from my eyes. "And I'm _never_ going to believe I'm the son of some Cob-damn hero!" I choked on my tears, sniffing, and trying to reel my emotions in. There was _no _way I was going to let myself believe this. Our mom was dead, wasn't she? She had to be. Carol was _lying_. But then I looked back at the two heroes who brought K.O into the store.

Carol was crying. She was looking away from me, and crying her eyes out. Like she didn't even want to see me. Gar, on the other hand, looked confused, and worried as ever. I wiped away my tears, gritting my teeth.

"W-why... Why...?" Carol suddenly looked back up at me, and I leered at her. "What happened to you, my little Kaio...?" More tears escaped my eyes, and I stepped back. Cob, this was not okay. I felt my turbonic energy starting to react, and I felt fear enter my body. I couldn't lose myself.

"He died." I lied. "He died, and I was his little replacement." I laughed, surprising the two heroes. "No villain wants a weak child."

Carol shook, and stared at me in fear. I smirked, going closer to her. "But guess what?"

"W-what...?"

"He's been trapped in my mind for as long as I've been around." I laughed once more, teleporting out of the storage room and back outside to escape them if they planned to run after me. I still had tears running down my face, but they were drying up fast. Who knew how bad K.O felt when he was in control to hear her say that he was her son... Terrible, most likely, but I'm not concerned about that. I'll leave him be in case he needs some time to digest the news. I took care of the problem anyway. Carol won't want me back after that.

I looked around after a moment, before deciding to take a break in the nearby forest. I've never noticed it at all, really. It was right in the view of my window, so I don't know why I haven't seen it. I shrugged, just wanting to be alone, and this would be the best place to do so. Nobody would be able to find me. Not Gar, Carol, my Dads... Nobody. I smirked, unaware I was already being watched, even with my careful advance into the forest.

I walked for a few minutes, glad nobody was around. It was only the birds, trees, and myself. Completely calming. I went on for a while longer, before I came to a clearing. It was a small spot, yet it would suffice for now. It had a small pond with a few Koi swimming in it, and a few other bits of wildlife. I grinned, sitting down next to the pond, and looking into the clear water. For a second, everything felt okay. I wasn't the son of a superhero, and my alter ego wasn't the one who deserved to be in control for as long as he wanted. I sighed, feeling a bit better now.

I should go check in on K.O right now. Maybe the calm area would help them unwind and deal with the problems at hand? As I got ready to head into my mindscape, the bushes behind me ruffled, and I stilled. Who the hell could it be? I scowled, my better mood ruined, as I turned back around to look at the passerby. Hopefully they'd leave me be.

"Ah..." The stranger said, a creepily calm tone In his voice. "What do we have _here_?" He chuckled, and came up beside me. I looked away, growling silently.

"Silent Treatment, T K.O? That's very unbecoming of you." I stopped, looking up at the guy in confusion. He was dressed up in a long black trench coat, and everything under the coat was similarly coloured, and maybe just a shade lighter or darker than it. He had a low voice with this weird distortion. I felt on edge, and I growled at him warningly.

"Stay back, idiot. How do you know my name?" I hissed. He only shook his head, chuckling. He sat down without warning in front of me, perfectly postured.

"Hm. So you really don't recognize me..." The shady guy mumbled, which made me even more cautious of him. "I'm Shadowy Figure. I work with your... _fathers._" He smirked, and offered a hand to shake.

I looked at his offered hand, and then back up at his shadowed face. I frowned, taking the hand and shaking it hesitantly. He pulled his hand away once the shake was done, and he sighed.

"Now... There's something I was meant to come to do, but I've forgotten." Shadowy let out a short laugh, and I rose an eyebrow. "So let's get something else out of the way instead. How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"I was doing just fine before-"

"Not you." Shadowy's mouth turned from a gentle smile to an unnerving frown, and I barely concealed a flinch. "I was asking... the person in your _head_." I flinched at this, and I hoped for certain, he didn't know about K.O.

"What the hell do you mean?! It's only me, myself, and I! Seriously, old man. You expect me to trust you the second I know your name? I'm done." I hissed, getting ready to leave. However, I couldn't yet again, since he grabbed a hold of my spiked wrist.

"You leave, and you'll regret having left your home." I looked back at Shadowy with a fearful look.

"Was your original plan to come bring me back home...?"

"Maybe." He smirked, and I looked away after a moment. I huffed and pulled my arm away, sitting back down.

"Now. I know you've got something.. Some_one_ else in your head." Shadowy said to me, and I stiffly looked off to the side. I gripped the grass under my hands.

"...I do." I looked back at his satisfied smirk. "But if you tell either Boxman or my dad, you're dead meat."

"I understand." Shadowy chuckled. "I've come to you with this sort of information, because..." The air seemed to still with his next words.

"..._I've found a way to get rid of him for you_."

I stayed silent, my eyes widening. There was no way someone could get rid of their alter ego's. At least, not entirely. I could tell. Especially since Shadowy Figure sounded a bit too much like my dad. Like, scarily too much.

"...How do I know I can trust you...?" I asked after a moment, growling.

"Of course you can't. You said it yourself. I'm some stranger you've _never_ seen before."

With this, I finally broke. I decided I'd... Let him know more. It was a risky descision, but I had no other choice unless I wanted to leave.

"Y'know what? Fine. I'll play your petty game. As long as I can leave after this, I don't care." I huffed, looking off to the side. "Why would you think I want to get rid of him? K.O, I mean." I frowned, hearing a slight hum come from him.

"Because. That's what happened to me."

"Why?"

"I'm here for a reason. I didn't want to share with someone I hated." That struck something in me, and I looked down at my hands. I don't know why, but... It made too much sense. But I didn't hate K.O. Sure he was annoying as hell, but I didn't feel the need to just get rid of him.

"Well, I don't exactly want to get rid of K.O. You know?" I frowned, pointing at him angrily. "I'm not gonna follow any of your stupid ideas." I got up, and before he could grab my arm again, if he even planned to do it, I quickly kicked him in the stomach, sending him a few feet away. "And I'm leaving. Whether you chose to fight back, or not, is your choice."

A chilling laugh came from Shadowy, and he slowly rose back onto his feet. I frowned and put up my fists, purple flames engulfing them.

"Oh, I'll _fight._" Shadowy smirked, an invisible breeze suddenly blowing through the trees. "That is... If you can _keep up._" He suddenly rushed at me, and I just barely dodged. If I hadn't moved, he would have grabbed my neck, and had a total advantage. With the split second I had on his side, I threw out a purple flaming power fist, hitting him right in the back.

He flew forward, but turned around and managed to keep himself upright. I couldn't react fast enough this time, his hand slamming into my chest. I flew back, hitting a tree with deadly force. I fell from the tree, struggling to get back up.

I looked up as he stepped towards me, my eyes wide.

"Hm. That's disappointing. You couldn't even defend yourself." He hummed to himself, and my anger flared up. With another burst of energy, I jumped up from my crouched position, and slammed into his chest, causing him to only stumble backwards. I briefly thought for a second, bringing K.O out would help me fight, but it would take too long. While Shadowy dusted off his chest from my petty attack, I shot several power fists at him, pushing him back, further and further.

But when it seemed like I'd pushed him far enough, he suddenly disappeared from my sight, and I heard something from behind me.

"_Boo_~" Shadowy whispered in my ear, and kicked me in the back, causing me to yelp in suprise. I rolled on the ground, growling when I scrambled back up to my feet.

"How the hell can I beat you?!" I snarled, watching his self satisfied smirk. It was as if he really wanted me to lose myself to my anger. But I couldn't let that happen, no matter what. I huffed, trying to calm down, even if it was ticking me off.

"You can't. Unless you get rid of K.O." He grinned wider, and I lowered my head in disgust.

"I'm not putting him away! I'll find some other way to beat you!" I hissed, purple lightening coursing down my arms. "Even without falling to your stupid tricks."

He 'tsk'ed, shaking his head.

"No, no..." He finally sounded angry, for once. "That won't do at _all. _Though, if you really think you can beat me..." He looked back up at me, and I could barely make out the eyes under the shade over them. "Then you're out of luck, boy."

As soon as he said that, he disappeared from my sight, teleporting once more. I growled, looking around me as fast as possible, wondering if he was going to attack suddenly. When nothing happened, I let my guard down, and sighed. Hopefully Shadowy wouldn't be back anytime soon. I looked around the small clearing, before planning to head into hiding around the Plaza.

I couldn't go back home, seeing as I wouldn't be able to leave my room. I couldn't be seen around the Plaza, even if it was where I was going, because Carol and Gar might keep me someplace to tell them more about me. But I knew I'd be... Somewhat okay. I'd be able to survive.

As long as I've got a place to hide, and can steal snacks, I'll be okay.

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YEET-

This I feel, wasn't the best chapter I could produce, but meh- people apparently like this book, so I'll keep going whenever I can.

Thank you all for reading this far!


	7. Easy-Peasy

Ya YEET-

Chapter six here we are-

I sure hope this one isn't freaking short oml

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Just after T K.O teleported out of the small room, Carol only cried harder. She was desperately trying to calm herself down, and of course, it wasn't working. Gene knelt next to her, consoling her quietly. There wasn't much he could say, after all.

Carol slowly calmed down, sitting back on her feet while Gene tries to get a much more coherent answer out of her than, "It's my fault he's gone."

"Carol, please... It's not your fault..."

"Of course it is...! I-I could have done something!"

The mother rubbed at her eyes, sniffling.

"I know I could have done something... I could have gone straight after him, tracking him down, to find where he took my son." She looked down, at her hands, before looking back up at Gene. "But I instead ran away, away from myself, away from him, and away from P.O.I.N.T.! I'm a pathetic mother, and I couldn't even save him..." She sighed, already feeling another wave of tears coming.

Gar shook his head, gently rubbing Carol's back. This talk was going to go nowhere if he didn't encourage her to come out of her depression.

"Listen, Carol. You're not pathetic. He's been gone for a long time, yes, but even then, you've been striving to get him back. That T K.O kid, he was a lot different than K.O. Like he has a personality disorder! That might explain why he was so mad when you said his name!" Gar explained, believing himself to be correct. Carol blinked up at him, swallowing roughly.

"Y-yes but-"

"No 'but's! That kid might not have been exactly him, but they are connected! S-so maybe we just find that kid again, and keep him as calm as possible! Maybe we can get answers out of him." Gar smiled, causing a sad smile to pop up on Carol's face.

"Thank you, Gene..." She mumbled, rubbing her red eyes once more. "I always forget how easily you can cheer me up.."

"No problem, Carol." With that, they hug and share a sigh. Now to do something to find T K.O. Soon enough, they separated from the hug and stood to head back out of the storage room.

On the other side of the store, two employees argued, unaware of the fact that Gar and Carol were coming out of the storage room.

"Well, I didn't know!"

"Didn't know that this kid might have been mentally unstable?! Seriously, Rad! I don't care if you have 'cool' friends! You don't need to be a jerk to a kid, or even just around me!"

The blue alien flinched, looking away stiffly.

"Enid, look, I'm sorry." Rad tried, looking worried for his life. "I know, it was a bad idea to not be nicer, but it's not easy being empathetic, y' know?"

"I can't tell you to try harder next time, can I?" Enid sighed heavily, as she watched Rad's head shake with a 'No'. She dropped her head into her hands, groaning. Nothing is ever easy with Rad. Ever.

Suddenly, the two employees snapped their heads back up to the sound of walking, seeing Carol and Gar heading up the aisle to the front of the store. Carol was still upset, even if she had a small smile on her face. Gar, on the other hand, had a neutral face on, to mask his feelings on the matter. Both seemed like they didn't want to talk, but would if they needed to. Enid was the first to speak up.

"Gar, Carol...?" They looked her way and stopped just a bit before the counter. "Are you both okay?"

Carol looked at Gar and nodded. A secret, maybe?

"Yeah, we're fine." Carol managed to answer, her throat raw from sobbing for a while. "Did you happen to see where that kid went?"

"You mean... The boy who suddenly ran into the back room crying?" Rad chimed in, frowning a bit. "No idea. Why didn't he come out with you guys?"

"He, uh..." Gar laughed after a moment as if he was trying to lift the mood. "He teleported out. We were wondering if he teleported in here before running out, maybe?" Rad shook his head, and Enid only looked confused, now.

"That kid can teleport?" Rad asked at the same time as Enid, surprised as ever. Sure, Enid assumed he might be able to teleport, but not to a presumably long distance from here.

"Yes. It surprised me too." Carol looked away, frowning, then looked back up at Gar. "I just hope I'm right with this one, Gar."

The boss nodded slightly, patting her shoulder. "I've got a feeling that he's the one." Rad and Enid shared a look, somewhat remembering what they could be talking about. Now and then, Carol would come into the bodega, looking down in the dumps, and close to tears. They always caught some words between Gar and Carol, and it was always the same. Eventually, the two came up with the most reasonable explanation.

"That was your son, wasn't it?" Enid spoke up, almost regretting her words when Carol's eyes started to water up once more. Carol slowly nodded, her breathing ragged as she held in another sob.

"Cob, I'm... I'm sorry..." Enid frowned, sighing, not knowing much of anything else to say. Before she quickly said, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Carol's head whipped back up from the floor, and she looked genuinely surprised. She stuttered slightly, looking between Gar and Enid, not having wanted to wrap them all up in this.

"Uh, yeah, me too! Anything I can do, too?" Rad joined in. Enid snapped her head towards Rad, looking confused. Wouldn't Rad rather sit something like this out?

"Oh, could you both go look outside for him...? All around, too. He couldn't have gotten far, I think..." Carol smiled, nodding her head slowly. Gar patted her shoulder and looked at his employees.

"I'll be searching too. We should split up. If either of you catches sight of him, report it to me immediately." Gar commanded, the employees saluting and nodding right after.

"Sir yes, sir!" They chimed and looked at each other. With another silent decision, the two ran out of the shop, splitting up. Rad went into the nearby forest, while Enid planned to look around the small Plaza, before joining the search in the forest.

Gar turned back to Carol, and she looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. This would be easy to find the kid, right? Gar gave her a quick hug, and a kiss on her forehead, as if to say 'everything will be okay.' She smiled brokenly, waving goodbye to him as he went out to search for the missing child.

Once everyone had left the store, she collapsed to her knees, silently sobbing.

"Cob, please... Bring my son back..."

Meanwhile, a certain evil genius kept making sure all the readings were correct. He had to be alone. Even Boxman couldn't come in here. Any time that he snuck in, he shooed the other out, not saying much other than, "it's a secret."

Venomous looked up at the rat in the tube, floating around in the semi-clear liquid, her fur had turned a morbid green, along with her hair, as if reacting to the glorbs that she was being created with. It was of such importance that she didn't see anyone else but him at first. He wanted her to know she was his, and his alone. But not to control, no.

He checked her status again, frowning as he saw that there would be a bit more time going into this. But, at least she was almost ready to come out into the world for the first time. Ever since T K.O was becoming more suspicious of all his gifts and more, even if he wasn't allowed outside, he would eventually escape, he knew. So at that point, he had started partaking in creating who he would call, "Fink". She would help him and Boxman find T K.O, fast, and easily. Much more so than Shadowy Figure, his former alter ego. He'd originally called the man to get his son back, and of course, he'd failed. Because T K.O wasn't back yet. Venomous had planned a sort of harsher scolding, to get him to know what he did was wrong, but he was still grounded. Just not locked in his room.

The Professor sighed when he saw the time for Fink's awakening increase once more. Perhaps his stress was somehow affecting her? He sure hoped not. With that thought, he shook his head.

"She'll be alright before I get back." Venomous hummed, taking off his gloves and throwing them in the trash. He took off his lab coat and hung it next to the door, as he was going through. With a final glance back at the rat in the tube, he gave a small smile. Venomous then left, trying to collect his thoughts.

He planned to talk with Boxman for a bit, to connect with him once more. Besides, he's been cooped up in his lab ever since he had started to make Fink. The only time he had been out, was when he heard from Boxman that T K.O had escaped. With that, he'd stepped out of his lab for the time to figure out what to do with T K.O when he came back. Boxman decided that he should be grounded, but when Venomous had suggested locking him in his room for such, the two agreed quite fast. In hindsight, it was a bad idea to isolate him as they did. Although, they had never known about his fears for small spaces to be locked in. Even Venomous had wanted to unlock the door, though he was the one who suggested they do that. As soon as he heard his son cry, he forced his legs to move. He went straight down to his lab, and hadn't left it until now.

What would Boxman say? What would he _do_? Would he start yelling, telling him how bad he was for abandoning him to work on some practically lifeless project? He shook a bit, just hoping it wasn't going to be any of that.

As he headed closer to Boxman's office, he felt his fears get worse and worse. With a shaking hand, he knocked loudly on Boxman's door, hoping he was inside.

Venomous had to wait for only a second, before the engineer's voice carried through the doors.

"Come in~!" Boxman shouted, and the professor gulped. No turning back now. He went through the doors, seeing Boxman's head lift in surprise as if he hadn't expected the knocker to be Venomous. He stood up quickly, slamming his hands down on his desk.

"Er, hello, Boxy?" Venomous offered. Within seconds, Boxman rammed into him with a hug, squeezing him tightly. Boxman sniffled, looking up at the gaping Professor.

"I never thought you'd leave that lab of yours!" Boxman huffed, furiously trying to wipe away his tears. "I don't care if it's only been a few days, but I had to run Voxmore all by myself! I've been sending bots out to look around the blasted Plaza, and all of them are being broken by the Plaza Losers, and I'm-"

"Boxy, Boxy... Shh..." Venomous gently hushed him, patting his head. The violet-colored man felt worse than he had before, hating hearing his boyfriend, sobbing over him. It was torturous, and he felt close to tears himself. "I'm sorry I left you alone, it was wrong of me to do that." Venomous sighed, gently running his hands through Boxman's green-tinted hair. Boxman only sniffled and tried to get rid of his tears, looking angry.

"You're right. So _wrong_ of you to just leave without saying a thing! I felt so horrible for T K.O when he started crying! You shouldn't have locked him in there!" Boxman growled, his voice breaking at the last sentence.

Venomous suddenly felt on the defensive, growling his response right back.

"You agreed to it too! I wasn't the only one in on this, you know?!"

Boxman flinched, having pulled away from Venomous in case of him suddenly lashing out. Venomous looked dejected, now aware of the tense feeling in the air. He sighed, running his clammy hands through his hair to try and calm down. It wasn't okay for them to get this mad. They were just stressed from all the things happening for the past few days. Which meant that they really needed to reconnect soon, or else their lives would have to go separate ways. Venomous looked back down to Boxman, who had gone uncharacteristically silent, looking away.

"Boxman." Venomous started, and the shorter man whipped his head back up to look at his mate. His eyes were tearing up again, but he forced himself to look up at the much taller man.

"I'm sorry." He forced out, hating whenever he had to admit that something was his fault. "I'm sorry for leaving you for so long. I just... thought maybe... I could have Fink done and ready to go find T K.O. But of course she's not ready. And here I am, unable to find my son, our son, to apoligize and get him back on our side. I surely hope that Shadowy Figure had found him by now..." He admitted, looking away with worry and more in his stance, his arms crossed around himself. Boxman gave a small gasp, not having expected such a thing to come from Venomous' mouth. He was always so confident, and seeing him like this broke his heart a bit more.

"P.V. I forgive ya'." Boxman gave a smirk, shrugging. "And no, I'm not bluffing either! We're both just messes, aren't we?" Boxman tried to joke, a hopeful smile on his face. Venomous stood idly, looking down at Boxman with a slight amount of remorse, and disbelief.

"Boxy, I.." He startled, trying to find the words to ssy before chuckling a bit. "Yes. If that's what you want to call my disorganization, then so be it. We're messes." The purple man nodded, gently patting Boxman's shoulder, and squeezing it in assurance.

"You think we'd be able to find him soon?" Boxman hummed, his own hand coming up to grab Venomous' hand. Venomous nodded, a gentle smile on his face now too.

"Of course, Box. We're getting him back, no matter what." His gentle smile turned sinister, and Boxman's morphed to a similar, yet a bit goofier, look. The two burst out with their evil laughter, holding eachother securely. Shadowy Figure was out there searching for T K.O, but they weren't too worried if he'd find the kid or not. Because soon Fink would be awake. And she'd find him faster than anyone.

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Down below the two evil geniuses, the project stirred to life.

She looked around. Down at herself.

Alive. That's what that was. She was... Alive.

But now there was another problem.

"How do I get out of this dang tube?!" She screamed into her breathing mask, bubbles flowing out as she caught her breath. No answer, of course.

She growled, crossing her arms.

Guess she'd have to wait for her creator.

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Thank you for reading this chapter!


	8. Come, let's watch the rain

T K.O's POV

I shuddered slightly, forgetting that at night, it'd get terribly colder than it was during the day. And I was currently hiding in the Forest next to the Bodega, where I'd met that Shadowy Figure. I growled, supressing another shiver.

"This sucks." I huffed, K.O out of the mindscape beside me, nodding. Sure, he probably couldn't feel the cold as much as I could, but might be able to.

It was only about 2-3 hours after my leave, and the sun was already starting to set. It was really nice to watch inside, when you're warm and all; But watching it outside with nothing more than a teeshirt and shorts... I'm sure anyone would understand. I curled up tighter, trying to conserve my body heat. But of course it did nothing but help restrict my breathing further.

I uncurled, and stood up, rubbing my arms with my hands to try and get some sort of friction. Again, still nothing. With a sigh, a terrible idea came to mind. Carol was still at the Dojo, right? I shook my head, K.O gaining a curious look as I went down the path back to the Bodega.

"T K.O?" He asked, floating beside me. I gave him a glance, saving my breath for better matters.

"I thought... We didn't want to be found...?" He gave a nervous smile, poking his pointer fingers together. I narrowed my eyes slightly, and looked away to focus back on the path. It wasn't as down-trodden as I'd originally thought, but the gravel wasn't irritating at the moment.

As we got closer and closer to the Bodega, K.O decided now would be a good time to pop out of existance and back into my mindscape, allowing my powers to be used again. I hovered above the floor slightly, hearing some chatter on the inside of the Dojo once I got closer.

"Carol, we can try again tomorrow, alright?" _Gar._

"...I... I guess you're right..." _Carol. His... Supposed mother._

"Besides, I found Rad half asleep and Enid dragging him back out to the Bodega." Gar chuckled a bit, Carol soon joining in. "So, goodnight, Carol."

"You too, Gene.." She gave a small smile as he left the Dojo. I stayed hidden the whole while, before moving to go to the Dojo, glad she was still here. I stepped in through the doors when she wasn't looking, and stood by the empty snacking table, before saying something.

"Carol?" What I'd almost said was, 'Mommy.' I had almost called her _Mommy._ I can't believe myself. I had just met her, and now I want to call her my mom. Nothing could go worse.

She turned around with a start, her eyes widening. She opened her mouth, as if to call Gar back, and looked ready to run. Though, Carol closed her mouth dumbly, and sighed, thinking better of it.

"T K.O?" She asked, looking troubled by remembering my name. "What... What are you doing here...? I thought you ran away, because..." Carol sighed, shaking her head.

"I... I have my reasons!" I snapped defensively, before biting my tongue quickly. "I-I... I just want to stay inside tonight." I struggled to even say it, watching her look at me with slight disbelief.

"...You won't mind staying, will you?" Carol asked me, looking confused. "I didn't think you'd want to be around me, since I'm a hero, and all.." She laughed quietly. I crossed my arms uncertainly, rubbing them for a moment as I decided whether or not I really wanted to put up with it.

"...I'm not worried about that, right now, Mo-Carol. Carol." I stuttered slightly, forcing back a blush of embarrassment. Oh Cob, I almost called her mom again. Shit. "All I'm worried about is not catching a cold from being outside." Carol gave a small smile, sighing with relief.

"Then it's settled. You'll stay with me tonight. Do you think your Dad will mind if you do?" She asked, grabbing up her bag from today. I shook my head, and without another word, she took me back outside. She quickly shut off all the lights, and locked the Dojo doors, before leading me to her car.

There was a big Mace in the back of it, as if it used to be a defensive vehicle. It was a plain type of blue, but not one I minded. She unlocked her car and sat up in the driver's seat, while I hopped into the passenger seat. We both buckled up, before she drove out of the Plaza's parking lot.

Neither of us spoke, and it was probably better that way. I was too tired to even think of something interesting, while she looked as tense as ever. So instead, I turned up some rock music once I found it on the radio to help keep me awake.

She sighed, gripping the steering wheel tighter. Maybe she didn't like rock. I sat back in my seat, just letting whatever song it was, play out.

By the time we got there, the sun set had disappeared, and several dozen stars were there to guide my way in. I unbuckled and walked over to the presumably locked door, leaning against the side of it to wait for her.

Carol followed soon after, giving me a small smile.

"It's open, T K.O. You don't need to wait for me." She hummed, grabbing out her bag from the back. I blinked, before opening the door to the living room, stepping in once I'd found the lightswitch.

It felt homely, and something about the swords and more made me feel at home. More at home than I did in my own room. I gulped, hearing her steps come up behind me, so she could go in too. I stepped out of the way, still confused how I could feel like this.

"You okay, kiddo?" Carol asked me, giving another patient smile. I nodded, before crossing my arms.

"Now that I'm in here, do you got anyplace for me to sleep? I hate to break it to you, I don't sleep on couches." I grumbled, narrowing my eyes. She laughed quietly, before patting my shoulder to go follow her. We went through the kitchen, and down a small hallway, before she stopped at a closed door.

"This, is gonna be my room?" I asked with a glare. Carol's smile faded, and nodded slightly with a nervous chuckle.

"I haven't been in this room ever since I moved in." Her voice broke, and she squeezed my shoulder tighter. I shuffled away from her, before opening the door.

It was sparsely decorated, but there was still everything a kid would need for their room.

A bunk bed was set up at the far corner of the room, dark starred curtains covering the window. A small clock ticked silently just next to the bunk bed, and there was a dresser, and a nightstand. Sure, the colors weren't flattering, especially with how bland it was, but it didn't matter. I'd get someplace to sleep.

My eyes widened after a moment, and I turned back to Carol with a look of disbelief. It... Felt like home should feel. I didn't feel trapped. I felt like I could actually sleep at night without being watched. I felt... Safe.

"Mommy...?" My voice broke, and my breathing picked up. I was struggling to keep control, K.O trying to break through and see why I felt so distressed. I hadn't meant to call her my mom. No. No!

I fell to my knees in front of her, my eyes slowly dripping with tears.

"T K.O?!" She gasped, kneeling in front of me. I shook, looking up at her, supressing sobs. Safe. _Safe. _What am I crying over? This is stupid. But I just can't bring myself to stop.

All of a sudden, I was pulled into a hug, and I stilled. I could feel her gentle hand on my back, rubbing it to try and calm me down. Her other hand was gently raking through my hair, helping my breathing slow.

Before long, Mom seemed to start humming something under her breath.

"_Just follow these steps._.."

I gasped, tensing up, as I started to hear her sing.

"_And take a nice deep breath_..."

At the last second, I hummed along, closing my eyes.

"_It's gonna be alright._.."

I fell unconcious, suddenly tired beyond belief. I teleported into the mindscape on accident, and flopped on the bed with a groan, ready to fall asleep there too.

K.O rushed in, his breathing a bit labored.

"T K.O!! Are you alright?! I-I thought maybe if I took control, you didn't have to show your emotions, a-and-"

"I'm fine." I grumbled, curling up on the bed facing away from K.O. "You can take control. I need some time."

K.O stayed silent, before the bed I laid on suddenly dipped a bit, showing that he sat down next to me.

"Are you really sure you want her to... Know about me just yet...?"

"I don't..." I curled up tighter, growling. "I'm already mad at myself for slipping up and calling her, 'Mommy.' I really am just a pitied kid. Aren't I?"

"No! No, no... T K.O. Don't talk down to yourself like that, okay? You were just feeling really bad, and didn't know what else to do..." K.O gently placed a hand on my side, rubbing it back and forth. "I-if anything... I think I was the one who said that..."

I paused, before sitting up and turning to look at him.

"That can't be right. I was in complete control, K.O." I narrowed my eyes, looking up and down his nervous form.

"I-I know! But... Maybe I influenced you to say it...? C'mon, T K.O, just trust me on this, okay..? I... Really think it's her..." K.O muttered, causing my last nerve to snap. I'd already been on edge from having been seen crying, but him suggesting that, after what happened today, Carol was indeed our mom.

"_**Enough**_! S-she can't be!" I snarled. Though, my breath caught in my throat and I choked down a sob. I won't believe it. Again, I was pulled into another hug, and I just flopped into it.

I didn't want to move, right now. I just wanted to be held. Wether it was K.O, or... My mom... I didn't care. I sniffled pitifully, burying my face into K.O's shoulder.

He gently patted my back, smiling. I sighed, still a bit angry that he managed to get me calmed down again. Somehow.

"So, T K.O..." K.O started, making me lift my head to at least look at him. "I'm putting everything I have on this. Carol's our mom. She's not dead, like dad said. And she's gone through a lot. Maybe because we're here, we can ask her more about herself? We can even explain ourselves!" K.O smiled, and I leered at him. His smile wavered, but he shook his head.

"Please, T K.O. Work with me on this... I want to know our mom."

"...Fine."

I pulled from the hug when I finally agreed, and he looked about as nervous as I felt. This was a good idea, right? Tell our mom about this? Apoligizing for reacting so badly when she was revealed to be our mom? This was such a big task that I'd have to uphold, seeing as she wouldn't understand that it's not just me. And that it's not just K.O.

"I'm... Gonna see you later, then." I muttered, turning to look at the static-filled eyes. "I need to make sure mom didn't start taking our tempurature from me passing out." I chuckled, managing to get a short laugh out of K.O. We sighed, and I disappeared from his grip, waking back up.

But I wasn't on the floor in Mom's arms. I was in the bunkbed, covered up. I sat up, looking around to see if she was still in here, but no, she seemed to have left me be. She was trying to keep her distance, wasn't she...? I shook my head, suddenly noticing that there was a different noise.

"...Listen, Gene. I need you to tell everyone I'm gonna be gone tomorrow, okay?" A moment of silence passed, before mom sighed. "I know, but I can't. It's... Complicated. You understand, right?"

"Mom..?" I shuffled out of the hallway, startling her. She looked between me and to the side of her, before giving me a small smile.

"Gene, I'll call you back. I'll probably tell you what's happening later." She mentioned, before ending the call, and putting her phone back in her pocket.

"You okay, kiddo?" She asked, coming a bit closer and setting a knee down on the floor, so that she was eye-level with me. I nodded after a moment, holding my arm with a bit of nervousity.

"Yeah, but..." I sighed, looking away. "Mom... I-I'm sorry for passing out on you. I wanna tell you a lot of things, but..."

"I understand, T K.O. We'll talk in the morning. You caught me in the middle of calling off, anyway." Mom laughed, hiding her suprise from me calling her 'mom'.

"Alright..." I nodded, relaxing now that I knew what was going to happen tomorrow. "Uh... Goodnight...?"

"Goodnight pumpkin.." She smiled, and leaned in to kiss my forehead. I stayed still, glaring at her before huffing and heading off to bed. That hug before was pushing it, but I wasn't ready for anything like _that._ I paused in my doorway, before deciding to leave the door open.

I hopped onto the lower part of the bunk bed, and sighed, looking at the doorway. I scoffed silently, still thinking I was crazy, before turning over and pulling the covers over my head.

Guess things really do change in a matter of days, don't they?


End file.
